Survival
by Corration
Summary: The key thing is to survive. After a bloody overrun by sharpteeth, Littlefoot and the other survivors are forced to find a new home. M for profound and sexual inferences and actions.
1. Prologue

No one expected it. The cycle of life had been disrupted again. For the first time in unwritten history, the first war broke out. Blood rained down as it was a classic battle between the carnivores and herbivores. In only one day, the battle escalated. The general of one of the herbivore groups couldn't believe it. How could peace be disrupted? The home he once knew was a barren wasteland. Fallen comrades decorated the floor. Even his grandparents laid there. He had cried when he saw their fallen bodies. The surviving carnivores would get them soon enough. He faced the dinosaurs that remained alive.

"We need to retreat."

"But Littlefoot-"

"There's nothing we can do. The carnivores will win. The best thing is to leave the Great Valley. We need to survive to tell our story."

The large group of young and weak dinosaurs left the place that they once called home.


	2. The Downfall

Littlefoot was relaxing with his friends down by the river. Littlefoot was a brownish Apatosaurus with reddish-brown eyes. He was intelligent for a longneck, the word used by the dinosaurs to describe his species. He was proclaimed a born leader. None knew of this, but it was displayed through his actions. He had led his friends to the haven called the Great Valley. He did it through care, determination, hope, and faith. These qualities had transformed him into a leader amongst his friends and a reliable child most of the times to the adults.

He watched as his friends were playing. He had injured his leg in the game that they were playing, so he sat out. Now, the teams were even, but Petrie and Cera had to change teams to keep it fair. Now Petrie was teammates with Spike, and Cera was teammates with Ducky. Littlefoot smiled as his friends played the simple-minded game.

Ducky was a greenish Parasaurolophus with blue eyes. She was a caring friend, making her more loyal than Littlefoot. This doesn't mean that she wouldn't lie. It was seldom and neglected when she lied. She had grown pass Spike in height. Her growth sprit had been the first one noticeable.

Petrie was a brownish Pteranodon with black eyes. He had also grown to his teenaged size, but he was still the smallest out of the group. With that growth, his stupid speech impediment had disappeared. Cera was the first to call it stupid. Petrie was the easiest to scare, even though he showed acts of his bravery. One of these days, Littlefoot thought if he got scared by every little thing, he would have a seizure.

Cera was the yellowish Triceratops with green eyes. She was hot-headed and close-minded. Her friends blamed her father in their minds. They didn't want to agitate this easily agitated threehorn. Sure she acted brave, but she would display acts of being a coward if the challenge was too much for her. She believed that she needed to prove to be the best, but her actions told her friends otherwise.

Spike, the green Stegosaurus, was the youngest of the group. He was an orphan that was adopted by Ducky's mother. No one knew, but he wished he could be with his own kind sometimes. Most dinosaurs thought he was retarded, because he couldn't talk. Littlefoot, Ducky, Littlefoot's grandparents, and Ducky's mother didn't think so. He proved everyone wrong when he spoke his first words when he reached his teenage years. Littlefoot won the bet with Cera, who had to give him her secret stash of tree sweets.

Littlefoot watched as his friends were finishing up the game. Ducky and Cera were winning this game of prehistoric soccer. For the winning goal, Cera used her horn and threw the pinecone through the goal post made of two rocks.

"We win," said Ducky.

"Damn it Cera," said Spike. "You cheated."

"It's not in the rule book," said Cera. "You always play in the dirt."

"Littlefoot," called Petrie. "Is Cera right, or is she lying again?"

Littlefoot looked at the flyer.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Daydreaming again," said Cera. "Typical. Longnecks have the shortest attention spans."

"Just because I wasn't interested in the game doesn't mean I don't pay attention. Let us not forget that I have saved your ass several times."

"Yeah, after leading us towards danger."

"Whatever."

Littlefoot looked up into the clouds as Petrie and Cera argued. He felt something in his gut. It was an awful feeling. It was like his life was at risk of survival. He focused his attention to Cera who had whipped Petrie. He got up and walked over.

"You guys stop. You're acting like babies. We are teenagers now. It was just a game. Where's your sportsmanship?"

Petrie and Cera looked at Littlefoot and faced each other. They looked each other with guilty eyes.

"He's right," said Petrie. "I'm sorry."

"Same here," said Cera.

Littlefoot sighed. Why did it feel it was his responsibility to stop these childish fights? He looked up and noticed the sun was setting.

"Another day is ending," he said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Littlefoot," said Ducky.

He walked back home. As he walked, what he was thinking about haunted him. Why did he feel his life would be in danger soon? It wasn't something new to him, but this time, he felt he would lose those he loved. His bluish-gray grandparents saw him coming up to them and greeted him.

"Hi, Littlefoot," greeted Grandpa Longneck.

"Hey, Grandpa," Littlefoot said and yawned.

His grandparents chuckled.

"Someone had an exciting day," said Grandma Longneck.

He faced his grandparents. He might as well tell them.

"Um, Grandpa? Grandma?"

"What is it, Littlefoot?" asked Grandpa Longneck.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Well, it has to be something since you brought it up," said Grandma Longneck.

"I promise it's nothing. I'm just going to bed."

"Goodnight, Littlefoot."

Littlefoot walked to a soft patch of grass and curled up into a ball and fell to sleep.

He woke up to a series of cries. He panicked and looked around. His grandparents also got up. They got to their feet and followed the cry. They didn't go far when raptors jumped onto Grandpa Longneck. One managed to bit into his side. He knocked both down with his head. The bluish raptors hissed at the longneck and attacked. Grandpa Longneck slammed them into the floor with his tail and stepped on them to make sure they were dead.

"Dear, are you alright?" asked Grandma Longneck.

"I'll live. Right now, we need to help the others. Littlefoot, you need to round up all your friends and the weaker ones. We'll handle this."

Littlefoot nodded. He didn't want to leave his grandparents, but he couldn't disobey his leader. During battles, Grandpa Longneck told him that he should respect him as the leader more than his grandfather. He didn't agree with him, but he couldn't win with his grandpa. He would state his stance, and his grandfather would counter it. Seeing that he was way older than he was gave him more authority and knowledge. Littlefoot ran to gather his friends and those weak to fight.

"Cera! Ducky! Petrie! Spike!"

"Littlefoot!" called someone from the sky.

He looked up.

"Petrie! Hurry, gather everyone and tell them to meet me in the Secret Cave."

Petrie understood and spread the word. Littlefoot looked back and saw that a green tyrannosaur had knocked down his grandfather. The tyrannosaur came down and bit the neck of his grandfather. His grandmother, realizing there was nothing she could do, caught up with Littlefoot. Raptors were behind here.

"Grandpa! No!"

"Littlefoot, run!"

The raptors jumped on his grandmother's sides and bit into her. She knocked both down and stopped in front of the crying Littlefoot. The two raptors ran towards them. Littlefoot head-butted them and faced them.

"C'mon, you bastards!"

As the raptors slowly got up, his grandma pushed him to the side. As she did, the raptors got on top of her head and bit into her skull. She went down, telling Littlefoot her last words.

"Run, Littlefoot. I love-"

The raptor tore out her eye.

Littlefoot ran to the Secret Cave. He mourned as he ran to the Secret Cave. The Secret Cave was a refugee that was high in the Great Valley stone walls. It was a secret passage that was impossible for sharpteeth to get in. That was because it was too slipper to enter from the Mysterious Beyond. He climbed up the slippery rocks as fast as he could. He made it into the cave. In the cave were his friends and a few residents of the Great Valley. Ducky's siblings, Petrie's siblings, a gray Hypsilodon with gray eyes named Hyp, an olive colored Muttaburrasaurus with chocolate eyes named Mutt, and a green Nodosaurus with green eyes named Nod made up the few residents in the cave.

"Where are the adults?" asked Littlefoot.

"They're fighting," said Hyp.

"Aren't you guys adults too?" asked Cera.

"Our fathers commanded us to watch over you hatchlings," said Nod.

"We are not hatchlings!" snapped Cera.

"Shut up," said Littlefoot. "This is serious."

He looked down to see his grandparents being torn apart bite after bit. He looked around and saw the residents of the valley losing. Petrie's mom had become a midnight snack. Raptors devoured Ducky's Mother. Cera's father became a victim to a tyrannosaurus. Mr. Thicknose was an easy feast for raptors. He couldn't believe it. Now the choice was obvious. They must leave the Great Valley.


	3. Thoughts During Travel

The sun beamed down on them as the band of dinosaurs walked. The hot sands burned their feet. No wind cooled their faces. Water or food seemed to be scarce in this wasteland.

"Littlefoot, do you know where you're going?" asked Hyp.

"Away from the Great Valley."

"Then you have no idea," pointed out Cera.

"It's better than staying there!" he snapped.

Littlefoot would take a while before he got agitated. The dinosaurs were shocked at this sudden outburst. Ducky's siblings began to cry. He looked at them and softened his expression.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"But Mama's dead!" they cried simultaneously.

He looked at them and sighed.

"I know, but we need to move on. To make our parents proud."

They sniffled as they calmed down. Littlefoot walked to the front where Hyp, Mutt, and Nod were.

"So, what do you think we should do?" asked Nod.

"The best is to find some food and water before the day ends. From there, I'll figure out where we need to go."

They walked and walked. Finding food in this desert seemed pointless to the others, but Littlefoot pressed them onward. If they laid in the open, it would make it easier for predators to feast on them. He had already seen gruesome deaths take place. He didn't want some more to happen tonight.

"Petrie," he called.

Petrie came and hovered over him.

"Look up ahead," ordered Littlefoot.

Petrie flew on ahead. As for them, they continued to follow Littlefoot. They walked for about five minutes until they saw Petrie heading back. He hovered over Littlefoot.

"Not far from here," he said happily. "I see green food."

The dinosaurs seemed relieved to hear the news. Littlefoot didn't. He continued to walk as the others started to run. He didn't even care if they ran up ahead. He needed to think. Ducky came up to him.

"Didn't you hear Petrie?" she asked.

"I heard. You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Ducky ran towards what Petrie saw. Littlefoot walked up the sandy hill and stopped when he reached the top. Below him was what Petrie saw. It wasn't a valley, but it provided some shelter from sharpteeth. It was a small forest with a river following through it. No one would even call it a forest because of how small it was. He walked up to the large farmland of trees and saw his friends. All were eating happily, like if the events from last night had no effect on them. Littlefoot went into some thick bushes to think.

My grandparents have joined my mother the same way she died. My life is so depressing. So now I have to lead some dinosaurs to another safe haven. I just haven't heard of any from farwalkers so I guess we'll have to find it on our own. So, for fending off sharpteeth, I got these dinosaurs. Most of them only serve as bait. The only fighters including myself are Cera, Spike, and Nod. For bait, we have an adult of a retard, Ducky's annoying siblings, Petrie's scared siblings, Ducky, Petrie, and a tough guy who's really a pussy. We'll never stand a chance between two big sharpteeth. I guess we'll have to sacrifice some for the team if two attack.

He stood up and walked over to get some food. He tore off a leaf and ate quietly. He was still depressed on what happened. Not only did that torment him, but it opened his past. Seeing his grandfather fall prey to the sharptooth reminded him of his mother's sacrifice. A tear rolled down. He finally broke down and curled up as he cried.

* * *

><p>Night came. The others were sleeping as Hyp and Littlefoot kept guard. Nod and Spike had first shift, so now it was their turn. Hyp followed Littlefoot as he checked the perimeter.<p>

"Littlefoot."

"What is it?"

"What's the plan for when the bright circle rises?"

"We continue walking."

"Is that your best plan?"

"Well, as I said. It's better than staying in one place for us to be bait."

"I guess so."

"Hopefully, we bonk into some farwalkers that tell us where we can find some refugee."

"We're going to rely on a bunch of farwalkers?"

"They know the Mysterious Beyond better than any of us."

"True. I hope we find a place soon."

"I'm pretty sure we will."

Hyp sighed.

"Littlefoot, what was the last thing you heard from your grandparents before…"

"My grandpa told me to run. My grandma told me she loved me."

"You had awesome grandparents."

"Yeah," Littlefoot faintly smiled.

"My father. We had a fight that day. I told him to fuck off."

Littlefoot had heard that word before. It was a peaceful day in the Great Valley when a herd of longnecks arrived in the Great Valley

_Littlefoot looked around the herd. He had hoped to welcome some of the children. His friends were playing a game somewhere else. They had invited Littlefoot, but he said he had to welcome a herd with his grandparents. Cera felt he was avoiding them, but the others understood. He walked around and finally spotted a child his age. He walked up to her._

_"Hi, I'm Littlefoot."_

_The ocean blue Apatosaurus with purple eyes looked at the handsome longneck before her._

_"Hi. I'm Crystal."_

_He smiled. She did look pretty. Littlefoot thought these feelings formed because of mating season. It was a year before he reached his teenage-size, but he didn't care. Dinosaurs mated young anyways. _

_"So, you want a tour of the Great Valley."_

_"I would love-"_

_"Hey! Back off! She's with me!"_

_Littlefoot looked to see a tail hit his face. He opened his eyes and saw a male his age. He was a reddish Apatosaurus with yellow eyes. Littlefoot faced him angrily._

_"What was that for?"_

_"Why are you here?"_

_"I live here. I was just going to show Crystal around. You can come too."_

_"Just fuck off!"_

_"Excuse me."_

_"Fuck off. Let's go Crystal."_

_The female followed the male away from Littlefoot. She glanced at him once more before she disappeared from her view. Littlefoot was so stricken by the unheard word that he had to talk to his grandparents._

_"Where did you here that?" asked Grandma Longneck._

_"A red longneck told me to fuck off."_

_A tail covered his mouth._

_"Don't say that word," said Grandpa Longneck. "It's a bad word."_

_"What's a bad word?"_

_"They're naughty words that you should never say. The word you just said right now was the worst."_

_Littlefoot looked at the ground and looked up at his grandparents._

_"Could you tell me all the words so I know which words are bad?"_

_His gullible grandparents told him the words he should never say._

Because of him, his friends had potty mouths. Even he would use the words sometimes to get the others' attention. He regretted what he told them, but it was an accident. He remembered that he was grounded for three days because Cera told her dad that he was an asshole, even though it was true. He faced Hyp.

"I don't know how long it will take, but we'll find one soon enough."

* * *

><p>The sun rose. Littlefoot and Hyp woke up the dinosaurs. They got up lazily and prepared to leave. They took one last bite before they left. They walked onward.<p>

"Why couldn't we stay there?" asked one of Petrie's siblings.

"We have to move on," answered Littlefoot. "That place wasn't safe. It would be easy for sharpteeth to find us."

They walked and walked. Mutt wiped the sweat from his head.

"Damn, it's hot."

"I feel like fire water is all over me," said Cera.

"You smell like stinky water," Petrie said to Spike.

"If I smell so bad, why don't you get off?"

Petrie kept his mouth shut and relaxed on Spike's back.

Littlefoot licked his lips. Hopefully, they would find water soon. It was only a matter of time before he had to hear everyone's complaints. They reached a cliff. Littlefoot stopped and looked around. He didn't know exactly which why to go, but he decided to head left. He had a gut feeling that they would find a place to rest. He should have followed the river, but the river had gone off a cliff, so they had to take an alternative route. He walked and finally luck was on their side. There was a migrating herd of yellowbellies. They were only a hundred yards away. The others saw this. Cera groaned.

"Yellow bellies? Why couldn't it be anything else?"

"It's probably the only herd we'll see," said Littlefoot. "C'mon."

He and his herd ran down to confront the yellow bellies.


	4. The New Quest and Newcomer

The gang confronted the yellow bellies. The yellow bellies looked at them. Their supposed leader took a step towards them. He was a green Beipiaosaurus with blue eyes. He seemed very old.

"Why did you confront us?" he asked in a stern voice.

The others were shocked. They have known yellow bellies for their annoyance, but this one was different. They looked more serious and down-to-earth. Littlefoot looked up at him and spoke.

"Hi, I'm Littlefoot and this is my herd. We're all that is left."

Chatter rose amongst the yellow bellies. It calmed down, and the leader began to speak.

"Did you say Littlefoot?"

He nodded. The yellow bellies, except their leader, began to vocalize an "Ah" as they lifted their heads to the sky. They began to rock their hips from side to side and shake their arms. After a minute, they faced towards Littlefoot with a smile and extended their arms to him.

"Thank you!"

Confused, Littlefoot looked at the leader. He smiled.

"What did I do?" asked Littlefoot.

"You drove away the other half of the herd. See, Loofah had his own way of thinking while I have mine. He convinced half of the herd that we should all listen to the Wise One named Foobie. He said I was too strict. The herd separated into two. We both claimed that we could reach Berry Valley. Last I heard of them was when you led them into a trail of nowhere. Now, they're probably lost."

"Well, not exactly."

Littlefoot explained that Loofah and the others reached Berry Valley.

"What?"

"It's true. They reached Berry Valley three days after we found them."

"You mean that idiot found his way!"

Chatter rose again. The leader quieted them down.

"Tell me. Who found Berry Valley?"

"Foofah."

"That retard! Shit!"

Chatter rose again, but this time, Littlefoot spoke up to quiet the herd of yellowbellies.

"I know that Loofah beat you, but Berry Valley is northeast from the Great Valley."

"The Great Valley?" wondered a purple yellow belly.

"It's a place that provided green food, water, and safety from sharpteeth. At least, that what it was. Now, it's an imaginary land full with false hope of survival. As I said, we were from there. A great sharpteeth attack took place. We were forced to leave. We were hoping if you had heard of any valleys beside Berry Valley."

The elder began to think.

"Ooo, I know," said a blue yellow belly.

The leader faced him.

"Enlighten me, Jacco."

"There is Haven Valley."

Jacco moved to the front. He looked at Littlefoot.

"Haven Valley?"

"From what I hear, Haven Valley is the ultimate protection against anything. No earthshakes or fire mountains. Food is plenty, and water flows through it without end. Flyers have described it as a wonderful place. Only flyers live there, though few in numbers. They calmed it has yet to be touched by walkers and runners alike."

"Do you know where?" asked Hyp.

"Yes, but the path is treacherous."

"Of course."

"Figures."

"Nothing new."

"Typical."

"We're kind of use to it," said Littlefoot.

"Alright. You walk towards were the sun rises. As you walk, there is a gigantic rock shaped like a sharptooth. You turn left and keep going straight. You'll see a cave that few plant eaters have come out alive. You must go through it. The cave will lead you to some wetlands that are home to belly draggers. After you pass them, you'll enter a deserted valley that is home to fire water. Pass it and keep on going. You'll find a forest that is claimed to have many sharpteeth. Once you pass that, you'll see a great rock wall. Look for a steep cave and walk through it. Haven Valley is on the other side."

Littlefoot's friends gulped. They wished their leader would say no to the task.

"Understood."

"But Littlefoot," said Nod. "All the possible dangers. Some could die."

"We'll die out here too. Our best option is to follow what Jacco said.

He faced the herd. They all were terrified by what Jacco told them. He sighed.

"Listen, we need to find a new home."

"Let's see," said Cera. "Stay here or death."

"Either way is dangerous," commented Littlefoot.

"Yeah, but I at least know my death is unexpected here."

The sun was about to set. Littlefoot looked around and saw some trees up ahead. It provided little shelter, but it would have to do.

"Let's just get some rest and make our final decision tomorrow."

The group agreed. Littlefoot turned to the yellow bellies and thanked them. They nodded and continued to march onward. Littlefoot and his herd walked to the trees and made themselves comfortable. Littlefoot kept awake. He volunteered to stand guard as his thoughts kept him awake.

The path is dangerous, but we need to find a new home. My grandparents would've wanted us to. Oh, how I miss them. The best option is to take the route Jacco told us. The first part is easy, but the fire water valley and the sharpteeth forest will be tough. It reminds me when we ventured to the Great Valley. If that was a nightmare, this will be hell. I mean, a forest of sharpteeth? I would've expected one or two but not a whole forest. Finding a new place is never easy.

Littlefoot got to his feet and patrolled the area. The wind had quieted down as the insects got louder. The moon shined down, providing some light to see in the dark. The trees provided shelter from above and the hidden. Littlefoot looked from side-to-side. He was expecting something to attack him, but it didn't. The moon was blocked by a cloud that almost made him blind. He could see outlines now, but color was not visible. He walked and was taken by surprise when something jumped out of the thickened trees and rammed his side. The object had to be big and soft, so he knew it wasn't a carnivore.

"Watch it!"

"Why don't you? Obviously, you don't know where you're going."

"Just shut up and get out of my way."

"No apology?"

"You want me to apologize? Fat chance."

"But you ran into me. Why should I apologize?"

The figure stood silent.

"I'm sorry," it mumbled.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"Are you deaf? I say I'm sorry."

"Boy, you got temper issues."

The figure knocked Littlefoot's head with its head.

"What was that for?"

"Temper issues? You shouldn't be talking. You don't know the hell I went through."

"I'm pretty sure I do."

"No, you don't. A month ago, my herd was eaten by sharpteeth. I managed to escape. My mother sacrificed her life to save mine."

Littlefoot heard the figure cry softly.

"I...I..."

He couldn't find the words. The figure looked at him.

"See. Your pain is nothing compared to mine."

"It's the same. Two days ago, the valley I grew up in was attacked by sharpteeth also. I saw my grandparents' deaths flash before my eyes. My friends managed to survive. Everyone we come to know and love is dead."

The figure stood silent. It finally spoke.

"Then we share the same pain."

"I guess it's a small world."

He saw the figure nod.

"You know," said Littlefoot, "it's dangerous for you to be alone out here."

"But I've been lucky."

"Luck can only bring you so far."

"I guess."

"You should travel with us."

"A complete stranger?"

"Why not? We've been talking, so we're not strangers anymore."

It giggled.

"But we're still strangers. We don't know each others' names."

"I guess you're right."

The cloud cleared. They both realized the other was an Apatosaurus. The female that stood in front of Littlefoot was a dark pinkish, almost purplish, color longneck with blue eyes. She was about Littlefoot's height. They smiled at one another.

"The name's Littlefoot," said Littlefoot.

The female seemed shock when she heard that name. She smiled.

"From the Great Valley?"

"How do you know?"

"It's me. Ali."

Littlefoot was as shocked as Ali when she heard her name.

"Ali?"

"Yes, Littlefoot. It's been a long time."

"It has."

"So, why were you walking in the middle of the night?"

"To be honest, I was being chased by a sharptooth. It almost got me, but I ran into the forest. I lost it afterwords. I didn't know until I looked back. That was when I bonked into you."

"A sharptooth? Here?"

"I think I lost it."

"Still, we need to tell the others."

Littlefoot ran back to camp. Ali followed. They made it back and saw everyone still asleep. He walked over to Hyp and kicked him softly. Irritated, he got up.

"What was that for?"

"Get everyone up. A sharptooth is in the area."

Hyp nodded, not even noticing Ali. He hurried woke everyone up without yelling. Everyone got up and looked at their leader. Littlefoot looked down at them.

"Now we got to be quiet. A sharptooth is in the area."

"Littlefoot," said Ducky. "Who is that next to you?"

"I'm-"

"Not now. We need to get everyone out of here."

Ali kicked Littlefoot's knee.

"What was that for?"

"For cutting me off, but you're right. The sharptooth could appear any moment."

Littlefoot eyed Ali before he turned around and led his herd out of the forest safely.


	5. The Sharptooth Rock

"A mountain shaped like a sharptooth," mumbled Littlefoot.

It was morning. They had distant themselves from the farmland of trees and found a river with some plants growing next to it. As the others relaxed and talked to Ali, Littlefoot kept to his thoughts. He separated himself once again from everyone and laid down next to the river.

Okay. Ali is with us. I'm happy, but that's one more body I need to protect. Probably she can fight, but I'm scared of losing her. I'm scared of losing all my friends. I don't know if it's luck that has gotten us this far or everything is a coincidence, but I know it can't be knowledge. If I knew of another valley that was safer to get to, I would've chosen the safer route, but I guess this will do. We do have a lead. Now, the yellow belly told us to held the sun rises. I don't know why the others call it bright circle, because there is a lot of bright circular things. Anyways, we just follow it until we reach the sharptooth rock formation. I guess we can take a break there if we find it today.

"Littlefoot."

"Yes, Cera."

"What do you plan to do, o great leader?"

He knew she was being sarcastic.

"The best plan is to see if we can make it to the sharptooth rock."

"So, we are truly going?"

He nodded. Cera sighed.

"Just don't make it a routine to say your ass."

"You still owe me for all the times I've saved yours."

Cera said nothing and left. Littlefoot followed. They walked back to the herd. Everyone, except Ali, knew he had decided to go to Haven Valley. They just waited on his word.

"The best bet is to go to Haven Valley."

"You heard the yellow belly," said one of Petrie's siblings.

"I know, but we have to try. I mean, c'mon. The place is a paradise never grazed by the likes of us. It is perfect to live in."

"The path is way too dangerous," said Ducky.

"We've been in worse. We've survived from fire water, big water, the Cold Time, the Valley of Mists, the Mysterious Beyond, and countless of sharpteeth attacks."

"I think we were just lucky," said Spike.

"Luck or no luck, we still have to try."

"Haven Valley?" questioned Ali.

"From what the yellow belly told us, it's a beautiful place filled with plenty of green food and water. It shelters from all sharpteeth attacks."

"Sounds like a wonderful place."

"But Littlefoot left out the fact that the path is nearly impossible," said Hyp. "You got fire water, earthshakes that might happen, possibly no water, wetlands with belly draggers, a mysterious cave, a steep climb, and a forest filled with sharpteeth."

"The forest filled with sharpteeth is scary and the belly draggers too, but everything else seems okay. I have traveled in the Mysterious Beyond all my life. I'll gotten use to everything else."

Ali faced Littlefoot.

"Let's do it."

She walked over to Littlefoot's side. He smiled.

"Anyone else?"

"I'll die one of these days, so I'll die trying," said Hyp.

Nod and Mutt agreed. Littlefoot seemed disappointed that the dinosaurs who bullied them around when they were younger agreed first before his indecisive friends.

"Well, I can fly, so I guess I can try," said Petrie.

His siblings also agreed. Spike nodded his head, and Ducky and her siblings agreed. The only person left was Cera. She caved into peer pressure.

"Fine. I'll try too."

Littlefoot smiled. With everyone in agreement, he faced where the sun rose and walked towards that direction. The rest of the dinosaurs followed. Spike walked up to Littlefoot.

"Littlefoot, do you have any plans for the trials ahead?"

"I'm working on it. Right now, my plan is to make it to that sharptooth rock and rest."

"Then what do we do about surprise attacks? The only ones who can fight are you, Cera, Nod, and me. Probably Ali can too."

"So, you figured it out too. I guess we'll try our best, but if things do go wrong, just run and don't look back. There are times when hope is futile. We must survive to keep the herd going."

Spike looked down, taking in what his leader said. He looked up at Littlefoot.

"Makes sense."

"Hopefully, nothing will happen."

Spike returned with Ducky. Littlefoot looked high into the sky. The sun was high above them and would start to descend soon. He looked behind him and saw that some of the herd was lagging behind. He stopped to wait for them.

"We need to hurry. I want to make sure we reach the rock formation today."

"But Littlefoot," said Ducky. "My brothers and sisters are hungry."

He was about to say to them to toughen up, but he remembered they were grown in a place where food was plenty. They had gotten use to it. Littlefoot walked over to Ducky's siblings. They were nervous when they saw the Apatosaurus walk up to them.

"We'll find food soon enough. Don't worry."

Ducky's siblings tossed fear aside. They nodded. Littlefoot walked back up to the front. Ali joined him.

"That was kind of you."

"I understand why they're hungry. Hopefully at the rock formation, there is food."

"Why are you so eager to get there?"

"This trip will probably take seven days. If we just stop to take a rest, we lose time. I want to get the others safely to the new home before anything bad happens."

"Just don't be too strict. I saw a brief of annoyance in your eyes when Ducky told you about her siblings."

She whispered the last sentence.

"Annoyed? You must be confusing me with someone else."

"Well, the longneck I'm referring to is brown with reddish brown eyes that is leading a herd of many kinds. From what I've seen, only one longneck stands out."

He chuckled. Petrie flew over and perched himself on top of Littlefoot's head.

"Hi, Petrie," he said.

"Boy. It's so hot."

"Then why can't you join your brothers and sister on Spike's back? His plates will provide shade."

"I was, but I got annoyed at them."

Littlefoot looked up ahead. He saw some vegetation up ahead, but it was uneatable. Though they would go hungry, vegetation meant water. Sure enough a spring was ahead. Probably it was left behind by heavy rains. It didn't matter where it came from. The gang saw this and rushed over. Littlefoot, Spike, and Ali walked normally to it.

"Some water," Spike sighed.

Littlefoot made sure everyone drank first before he lowered his head to drink. The water washed his throat and quenched his thirst. He looked up and saw some still drinking. He walked away from the water and sat down. Ali finished drinking and sat next to him to keep him company. They watched as Ducky, her siblings, Petrie, his siblings, Mutt, and Spike played in the water. Cera, Nod, and Hyp relaxed in the water edges.

"We'll only be here for a short time until we have to move," said Littlefoot.

Ali faced him.

"Why can't we just stay here?"

"I want to make it to the rock formation before sundown. Besides, if we stay here, we're exposed to sharpteeth."

"But they always find you. They have good sniffers."

Littlefoot remembered that when they were trapped in that island with Chomper, they had to stay hidden in a stinky place so his parents wouldn't find them.

"True, but I don't want to prolong our stay. We are weak overall. I don't know how we'll make it through that forest."

"We'll find a way."

Littlefoot smiled.

"Littlefoot!" called Ducky.

The two longnecks walked over to Ducky. They saw the remains of a longneck near the water. Ali closed her eyes and covered her face into Littlefoot's neck. Littlefoot examined it. It was an adult longneck that had died about two days ago. Judging by the claws, a pack of raptors had attacked it. The reason why most of the rotting meat was a mystery to Littlefoot. Usually, raptors ate the entire thing. Why was this one only a quarter eaten?

Suddenly, Littlefoot heard a hiss. He looked around. Green and gray raptors appeared from nowhere. They closed in on the fresh meat. Littlefoot walked in front of his herd to defend it. Cera, Spike, and Nod did the same thing. Ali joined them. Though they were outnumbered, they would go down trying.

The raptors simultaneously attacked. Cera charged at them and knocked two down. Spike kept his guard up as two attacked him. He used the spikes at the end of his tail to injure his enemies. Littlefoot took on three raptors. Two of them jumped up. He smashed one with his head as the other one came down on his chest. Before it dug its talons in, Littlefoot bit it, picked it up, and tossed it to the third one that was in midair now. Ali had two raptors and used her tail as a bat to swat the the two away. Nod's hard shell provided protection as raptors bit into him. He used his tail to smack them off.

The short battle quickly forced the raptors to retreat. Though high in numbers, they were cowards. Littlefoot's herd cheered. He looked around and saw everyone was okay. He smiled up at the sky. We got a lucky break. He faced them.

"C'mon," he announced. "We need to go."

The herd was on the move again. No one complain. Littlefoot chuckled to himself Fear can always change a person's mind. They walked for a long time. As the sun went down, it blinded Littlefoot. He tried to look pass it and saw a figure before them. At first, he was scared, but he noted that the figure did not move. The figure blocked the sun from him. He smiled. They made it to the rock that looked like a sharptooth.

"That's going to give me nightmares," said Petrie.

Littlefoot looked around and saw the barren land. He sighed, but they could live without food for at least one more day. He walked up to the rock wordlessly and curled up to go to sleep. The others saw their leader sleeping peacefully. Careful not to disturb him, the others found spots to rest. Ali decided it was okay to sleep next to him. Cera slept next to them. Mutt, Hyp, Spike, Ducky, and Ducky's siblings rested together a few yards away from the rock. Petrie saw it looked scarier if you slept far away from it, so he and his siblings slept on Littefoot's and Ali's backs. The sun had just gone down after everyone was sleeping from a long walk.


	6. The Cave

Littlefoot woke up from a nightmare. He looked around frantically and realized when everything seemed normal. The only thing moved was the fact Petrie and his siblings rested on Cera's back or the ground. He also noticed that no one was watching. He decided to watch out for predators. Besides, he couldn't fall back asleep. He slowly got up and left the spot where he slept. The moon provided some light in this dark night. He just needed to see an outline of a figure to alert the others if danger was near. As he patrolled, thoughts about the nightmare haunted him.

It seemed so vivid. Death is getting to be a routine in my life. Death and misery. The only thing good that happened was meeting Ali. Even her story was filled with death and misery. It's like if we have fucked up lives or something. Wait. Did I just say the 'f' word in my mind? I never said the 'f' word in my mind knowingly, even though it does describe our lives.

Littlefoot looked around and saw nothing. It seemed eerie, but if danger wasn't here, why was he complaining? He sighed and went back to the nightmare. The nightmare had seemed like a foreshadow of events, but he wasn't sure. He sure didn't want to jinx himself and say they were. It will just visualize as a dream and that will be it.

"Littlefoot."

He turned around to see Ali. She walked up to him.

"What are you doing up? It's not even daylight."

"I just couldn't go to sleep."

"Oh."

"You should be resting too."

"I woke up and noticed that you were gone."

"Woke up from what?"

"Oh. It's nothing."

"Nothing means something. Just tell me."

"Just a dream."

"A dream? Was it a scary dream?"

She began to slowly cry. Littlefoot began to feel guilty on asking and rubbed her cheek with his nose. She returned the affection. They stopped at the same time and faced each other. Littlefoot looked down.

"I'm sorry. Don't tell me if you don't want to."

"It's just that the dream started out happy. I was with my mother and the herd. It was a normal day when the sky turned red. That's when the sharpteeth appeared. My mother and I ran, but for some reason, I escaped all alone. I looked back to see my mother's eaten body in a distant. I cried as I heard a mighty roar. Then I woke up."

She was basically reliving her past, thought Littlefoot. Now, she's crying because of her memories.

"Ali, it will be okay."

"No, it won't! Everyone we know and live is dead! We can't just forget about the past!"

"I know we can't, but we can live on for them. Though it's sad, we must keep only happy memories of the past and keep moving forward. Our parents wouldn't want us to look like this. That's why we need to get to Haven Valley. To make our parents and ancestors proud, because they're watching us from the sky and smiling down."

Ali said nothing and rested her head against his head. It caused Littlefoot to blush.

"Thank you."

The two remained like so until sunrise.

* * *

><p>They had reached the cave in about an hour of walking. The cave had a gigantic entrance. It was dark and spooky. The wind that passed through it carried a small scent of blood. The others gulped as Littlefoot looked back.<p>

"I think this is the cave," he said.

"The cave only a few had survived in," said Hyp.

Petrie and his siblings shook in fear.

"Is there anyway around it?" wondered Ducky.

"We need to go through it," said Littlefoot. "The mountain range seems endless."

Littlefoot took the first step into the cave. The rest followed. The cave was dark and spooky just like they all thought. Little light shined throughout the cave, but it wasn't enough to distinguish all the shadows. With the small percentage of light, frightening shadow figures were formed. The dinosaurs huddled close together for protection.

"This cave is sure spooky," commented Nod.

"No kidding," agreed Mutt.

"I'm scared," said Petrie.

"Just relax," said Littlefoot. "The more scared you are, the weaker you will be."

"I'm not scared," stated Cera.

"Is that why your feet are shaking?" asked Ducky.

Cera looked down at her shaking feet, and they stopped. She looked over at Ducky.

"They were excited."

Ducky rolled her eyes and said nothing. She walked up to Littlefoot. She looked up at him and saw no trace of fear.

"Littlefoot?"

"Yes Ducky?"

"Um, do you feel that someone is watching us?"

"That's just your imagination."

Suddenly, footsteps were heard. Littlefoot and the gang stopped and looked from left to right. Spike spotted purple eyes in the darkness. The figure was big, so he assumed the worst.

"Guys, we have company."

Littlefoot, Ali, Cera, Nod, and Spike prepared for a fight. Another pair of green eyes were seen. They were lower than the purple eyes. A third pair of brown eyes appeared, leveled with Cera's eyes.

"Shit," said Spike. "There are three of them."

"We'll take them down," said Cera.

Littlefoot was curious why the eyes were at different heights, but his question was answered by a voice.

"Turn on your own kind? How absurd."

"Hush, Dante. They might be able to help us."

Littlefoot relaxed his stance.

"Can you please step out of the shadows?"

The figure with the purple eyes did. Her friends followed. The figure with purple eyes was an ocean blue Apatosaurus. The one with brown eyes was a lightly brown Triceratops. The green-eyed figure was a blue-green Parasaurolophus. Littlefoot stared at the longneck.

"Do I know you?"

"I don't know. But then again, you do look familiar."

"What's your name?"

"Crystal. The threehorn is Dante, and the bigmouth is Kevin."

"Crystal. Have you been in the Great Valley before?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid. Why?"

"Well, I'm from the Great Valley. My name is Littlefoot."

"You mean that cute longneck? I remember you. What are you doing out here?"

"Well, a sharpteeth attack happened in the Great Valley... We're the only survivors."

"Are you serious?" asked Kevin. "That's what happened to each of us."

Littlefoot was now curious. He thought it was a coincidence when Ali mentioned that sharpteeth attacked her herd. Was it possible that there was an organized army going around, killing their kinds?

"How long ago?" asked Littlefoot.

"About a Cold Time ago," said Dante. "Crystal experienced it a little after we did."

"So, how did you all get here?" asked Cera.

"There were two sharpteeth chasing us. We managed to escape them by hiding here. See, we're still trying to find a new home. That's why we're out here."

"We are too," said Littlefoot. "We should travel together."

"I don't kn-" started Kevin.

"It's a great idea," said Crystal. "There is strength in numbers. So, Littlefoot. Why are you in this cave?"

"We heard of a valley called Haven Valley. We are following the directions a yellow belly gave us."

"Haven Valley?" wondered Dante. "I've heard of that place. The path seems impossible."

"If you believe, it isn't. We have to try. I'll die trying before I try giving up."

The three dinosaurs smiled.

"Count us in," said Kevin. "With a guy like you, I'm sure anything is possible."

Littlefoot smiled and said, "C'mon. Let's keep on moving and get to Haven Valley."

Crystal walked next to Littlefoot's left. Ali was on Littlefoot's right side.

"So, Crystal. How long have you been in the cave?"

"Not very long."

Littlefoot began to think. He gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"We're not alone."

He looked from side to side and saw some movement.

"Everyone, on your toes. We're being watched."

The creatures jumped onto the rocks and ground. They watched the large herd as it walked forward. The raptors looked at them with interest.

"Why are they not attacking?" asked Petrie.

"Because they are few in numbers," replied Littlefoot. "Let's just hope it doesn't grow."

As they continued walking, he noticed that the raptors were following them. Not only that but their numbers were slowly increasing. Littlefoot became more alert. They walked so more until he stopped. He saw in the distance were nests. He looked from side to side and saw the raptors were advancing. He stood in a fighter's stance.

"Get ready to fight."

A few raptors screeched, and they all attacked. Ten went for the longnecks; six attacked Mutt, Hyp, and Nod; four jumped in front of the threehorns; two attacked Spike; and three challenged the rest. Littlefoot gridded his teeth in frustration. This could be the end.

Two raptors jumped at Liittlefoot. He swatted them with his tail and pressed their necks against the rocks. As he did, two raptors latched themselves on his left side. As he pressed his tail against the wall, he used his head as a club and knocked the raptors down before they bit into him. They fell to the floor. As they got up, he noticed three were attacking Ali. He saw that the ones pressed against the wall were dead and ran over to help Ali. He stopped when he heard Crystal yell his name. He looked back and saw that the raptors had cornered her. He also saw the two raptors who latched on him were stalking him. He quickly reacted to them by wrapping his tail around one of their necks and breaking its neck. He then used it as a bat to hit the other one. The talons of the dead one clawed the eyeballs of the alive one, who died when its eyeballs were clawed out. He threw the one he held towards one of the raptors about to attack Crystal. The other raptors saw this and decided to go after Littlefoot. The one that was bashed with his dead teammate got up and attacked Littlefoot with the other two. They all jumped on him. Littlefoot managed to slam two to the ground with his tail, but the third one slashed at his neck. He barely missed it, but the tips of the raptor's claws manage to slice some scales off. Littlefoot responded by ramming it to a wall with his head. It died on impact. The two raptors saw that the male longneck had his back turned on them and charged. Crystal summoned the courage to ram them down. She then stepped on one and crashed its spine. The last raptor tried to escape, but Littlefoot kicked its head, breaking the skull. He turned around and ran towards Ali. Before a raptor bit into her back, he bashed it off with the side of his head. Ali had managed to kill one. Littlefoot saw the two running away. He and Ali grabbed their necks with their tails and choked them to death.

Cera and Dante saw the raptors coming at them from the side. The two raptors in front of them jumped at them. The two threehorns rammed down the raptors with their horns. The other two attacked the threehorns from their sides. Cera saw this and spun around in time to swat the raptor attacking away. Dante wasn't so lucky. The raptor dug its talons into his scales. Cera quickly slapped it down with her tail before it bit into Dante. Dante charged at the fallen raptor and pushed it against the wall. The round-tip horns left marks on the raptor as it slowly died due to the pressure formed as it was pushed against the rock. Cera noticed the three living raptors were heading to Dante. She quickly charged at them, picked them up by lowering her head, and flung them over her body. One died as it landed on a sharp rock. The other two got up and faced the threehorn. Dante joined her, and they both pushed the raptors against the wall with their horns. The two raptors slowly died.

Spike attacked the two raptors before they attacked him. He charged at them. The raptors jumped to the side and attacked the defenseless spiketail. Spike saw this and drilled the spikes forming on the tip of his tail into one of the raptors. It died instantly, but the living raptor latched itself on Spike's side. It bit into the spiketail. Spike roared in anger and agony. Before he allowed the raptor to go any further, he managed to knock it off with his tail. He drilled his tail spikes into the raptor's eyes.

Mutt, Nod, and Hyp were surrounded by the six raptors. They attacked. Nod basically clubbed them to death with his tail. The force was so great that the two attacking him now had cracked skulls. Hyp and Mutt stood in a fighter's stance as the four attacked them. Hyp knew that he wouldn't be able to fight them off, but he had to try. He kept them at bay with his tail until one of the raptors finally pounced on him. He tried to get it off, but it was too late. Before Mutt or Nod could help him, the raptor bit into his neck. Mutt knocked the raptor off with his tail, and Nod clubbed it to death. Hyp's body fell down. The remaining three attacked Mutt. Nod, not wanting to lose another friend, bashed two of them down. One managed to get to Mutt. Mutt used his spiked thumbs to claw at it. He managed to slit its throat.

Kevin tried to protect everyone else as the three raptors charged at them. Though they were about the same height, Kevin knew he wasn't a match against one raptor. He would surely die if three attacked. Unfortunately, they did. Before he saw death flash before his eyes, he saw them all rammed down. He looked up to see who helped him. Crystal smiled. Littlefoot and Ali ran up to her side. Know they were defeated, the three raptors ran away.

"The battle is won," said Kevin. "Thank you, Crystal."

"No problem."

"Spike!" yelled Ducky's siblings.

The others looked at Spike. He was lying on the ground as blood drained out of his body. They surrounded him. Cera and Dante joined them. Littlefoot saw as his friend hanged on to life. Ducky was in tears.

"Littlefoot," said Spike. "Thanks for everything. Ducky, I'm sorry."

"Spike," she cried. "Don't die."

"I don't want to...but I guess...it's my time."

"Spike."

Memories of Spike flashed in Littlefoot's head. He was always the silent type when they were juveniles. He was smart. His sense for finding food had never failed them. His reliable friendship was the strongest. When he began to talk, it was one of the most memorable things he did. He was so happy to communicate with the others. Now, Littlefoot watched as one of his childhood friends died.

"Never give up," said Spike before he closed his eyes.

"Spike? Spike!"

Ducky and Petrie broke down in tears. Cera walked over to Ducky and cried softly. Ali had watery eyes. The others lowered their heads in respect. Littlefoot turned away and saw that Nod and Mutt stood over the dead body of Hyp. Unlike Spike, Hyp was shredded open. Littlefoot walked over to the sadden Mutt and Nod. He looked back at the group mourning over Spike.

"C'mon," he told Mutt and Nod.

They walked over to the group. Mutt and Nod noticed that Spike had also died.

"I know it's hard, but we have to go now," said Littlefoot.

Most agreed. They encouraged the ones still mourning to follow. They reluctantly did. The group walked down the cave and saw the exit. They walked through it and saw the wetlands near them. Littlefoot decided to sleep here. They rested uncomfortably, each having nightmares of what could have happened if they were in either Spike's or Hyp's place.


	7. The Wetlands

Ali woke up from the dream she had. She looked around and got up. She got away from the herd to clear her head. As she walked, she heard voices in the distance. She hid behind a large boulder and peeked over. Littlefoot and Crystal were talking.

"The horrors that we witnessed today replayed images in my mind," said Crystal.

"I know. I would've never expected all this to happen."

Littlefoot looked up at the sky.

"Spike and Hyp now join the others."

A tear rolled down his eye. Crystal nudged him. Littlefoot looked at her and smiled.

"Tell me about what the yellow belly told you."

"After passing the cave, the wetlands are next. They are filled with belly draggers. After that, we need to pass a valley with fire water. Then it's the forest of sharpteeth. After them, we reach the valley."

"It's risky. I mean if we had trouble here, then how do we triumph over the other trails?"

"That's been irritating my brain. I thought that the forest of sharpteeth was going to be the only hard part. I never expected two deaths."

"No one does, but as Spike said, we mustn't give up."

Littlefoot smiled and faced Crystal. He looked into her eyes and saw pain and sadness, but there was a small spec of light in them. Crystal faced the male and sighed. She nuzzled his cheek.

"I never said thank you for saving my life."

"It was nothing."

Ali looked at them and felt awful. She lowered her neck and returned back. She laid down and closed her eyes. She didn't sleep. She couldn't. Her mind was so confused and angry. She then heard footsteps coming up to her. It was Littlefoot. He stopped in front of her. Ali pretended to be asleep. She heard him sigh and walked passed her. He slept with his head facing away from her. Ali cried softly.

* * *

><p>The next morning came, and they were off. They entered the muddy land. Ducky looked around and sighed softly.<p>

"I remembered how much Spike loved the mud."

Littlefoot realized that only Mutt and Nod were in the front with him. Usually, Ali was beside him, but she was walking next to Cera. He wondered why, but he figured that she wanted to talk to Cera. He looked forward. The wetlands were filled with mud and plants. Water had covered most parts of the wetlands. In some places, it was deep. In other spots, it was shallow. Littlefoot carefully looked ahead to watch for belly draggers.

Ali looked down at Cera. She needed someone to talk to. She looked around and saw that Crystal was near them. She couldn't talk to Cera about what she saw last night with Crystal so close. She decided to think about all the possibilities of what happened in the beginning and the end of Crystal's conversation with Littlefoot.

Knowing Littlefoot, he was probably patrolling the area. Wait. That doesn't make sense, because he went to sleep when the sun was going down. He probably had trouble sleeping. I'm worried that he doesn't get enough sleep, he might become sick, but he seems perfectly fine. The other thing he could have had was a bad dream. Spike did die, so I think that's playing with his mind. Now, Crystal must have woken up from that. I think she did have a bad dream. So, she walked around and saw Littlefoot. She probably walked up to him and asked why he was up. He probably said that he couldn't sleep. Sometimes, it takes a couple of minutes to get Littlefoot to speak about his feelings. Then they talked about the events that happened in their lives, assuming that they woke up way sooner than I did. So then I saw them and after I saw...that, I left. They were still talking for quite a while. I'm pretty sure that they weren't taking about the events. They were probably talking about happy memories. Then, what makes me think I lost him is that he stood in front of me. It sounded like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't... I think it's something bad since he turned away from me. That was a horrible feeling when I saw he was sleeping away from me. That night, we were kind of sleeping together. Now, it feels that my heart is being toyed with. I feel horrible.

Ali looked at Littlefoot. His eyes seemed sadder today than yesterday. Ali looked away and felt rejected. In all her life, she never experienced this feeling. She wanted it to go away.

"Ali, are you okay?" asked Cera.

Ali looked down and smiled.

"Yeah."

"I know Spike's death reminds you of the past, but you must move forward."

Ali nodded. Thanks to Cera, Ali felt more horrible as her feelings and past clashed together.

"Littlefoot, how much further?" asked Nod.

Littlefoot stopped. He looked at the water in front of him and saw that it was very deep. He sighed and looked at Nod.

"I'm not sure, but we ran into trouble. The water here is too deep, and it looks like there's a lot of things in it that will drag you down."

"Then we'll go around it," suggested Mutt.

"I guess that's our only option."

The gang turned right and continued on the path. Still concerned about Ali, Cera confronted Littlefoot.

"Littlefoot, you should check on Ali. She looks very sad."

He faced her as she looked down.

"Nod, keep on going. Find a path out of the wetlands."

Nod nodded and led the others. Littlefoot walked up to Ali. She looked away from him.

"Ali, what's wrong?"

She stood in front of him and answered without facing him.

"It's nothing."

Littlefoot grunted.

"But Ali, I'm worried."

"So now you worry."

Littlefoot was confused now. She seemed bitter towards him.

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"How ever you want it."

"What's with all the snappiness today?"

She faced him. He was shocked at the madden expression she showed.

"So now I'm interesting?"

"Ali, why are you acting like this?"

"Just drop it."

"No," Littlefoot replied agitated.

Ali moved around him. Littlefoot ran up to her and stopped her.

"I'm not going to drop it. Ali, just tell me what's wrong."

"No."

"Stop being so stubborn and tell me."

"No."

"Ali."

"Littlefoot, just get out of my way."

Angered by her actions, he never expected the next words to come out.

"Stop being such a bitch!"

Ali faced him with anger as he slowly backed away.

"What!"

"Ali, I'm-"

"No, no, no. Did you just call me a bitch?"

Littlefoot didn't reply. Ali began to walk away on the path the herd took. Littlefoot sighed and stood still. Never in his life would he use that word to his female friends openly, and now he did. He lowered his head in shame and remained stationary.

Did I just call her bitch? I never expected that. I mean, she was acting like one, but I would've never said it. Cera acts like a bitch all the time, but I never say that to her face. Ali looked like she wanted to kill me. Why is she so upset at me? Well, before I called her that.

Ali walked away from Littlefoot in anger. She was so mad that she didn't exactly follow the herd. She kept on walking deeper into the wetlands.

* * *

><p>"Where are they?" asked Cera.<p>

The gang had made it out of the wetlands with no trouble. They were expecting a belly dragger to appear, but none did.

"Petrie," said Ducky. "Go fly and find them."

Petrie looked up at the sky. He noticed that it was getting foggy.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Look."

The others saw mists slowly covering the wetlands. Cera groaned.

"Great. We lost them."

"No, we didn't," said Mutt. "Look."

They saw a figure of a longneck through the mists. It walked towards them. He smiled when he saw that everyone was alive.

"Good job, Nod."

"Littlefoot," said Crystal. "Where's Ali?"

He looked around and realized she wasn't there. He looked back and felt guilty.

"She's back in there. I have to go find her."

"We'll help," said Ducky.

"No. It's too dangerous. Just keep on following the bright circle for a little more and rest in a safe place."

He left back into the mists. Nod and the others followed his orders and left.

Damn, thought Littlefoot. She got lost because of me. I'm not going to lose her as well. Life has always taken those I've treasured. Not this time.

He ran, shouting her name.

"Ali! Ali!"

He heard a faint scream. He followed it and saw her surrounded by three teenage-sized belly draggers. The belly draggers had backed her up in some plants that her back feet got tangled in.

"Get away from her!"

The belly draggers noticed the second meal and went for it. The third one was closing into Ali. Littlefoot feared the worst. As a belly dragger came at him, he got on his hind legs. The belly dragger's mouth came down, missing its meal. Littlefoot's feet landed on the belly dragger's snout. He quickly got on the belly dragger as the other one came down at him with an open mouth. Littlefoot dodged it and cleared the belly dragger he was on as a mouth bit into it. The two belly draggers began to quarrel.

Good. They're distracted.

The last belly dragger closed in on the female longneck. Littlefoot knew he had one shot. He looked around and saw that nothing could help him. He charged at the belly dragger and slapped its eye with his tail. The belly dragger was distracted for a little while. During the time, Littlefoot faced Ali.

"Run!"

She obeyed and ran pass the two fighting belly draggers. She made it safely away from them and looked back. The fog shrouded Littlefoot. She began to worry.

"Littlefoot? Littlefoot!"

She heard no reply. She feared the worst and broke down.

"Stupid. Stupid, stupid! If I just told him, this would have never happened. Probably he was right. Not only am I a bitch, but I'm also a murderer."

"Don't call yourself that again."

She looked up and saw Littlefoot perfectly fine. She was so relieved that she nuzzled his cheek.

"Oh, Littlefoot. I thought those belly draggers..."

"They almost did-"

Ali faced him.

"-but I made all three of them fight each other. The third one closed in, so I made sure I was in front of the others. It was very risky, but luck was on my side. The belly dragger lunged at me. I jumped to the side, making all three fight."

Ali smiled and rested her head against his. She sighed.

"You were mad," said Littlefoot.

"I guess. I was just more annoyed than angry."

They started to walk.

"I'm sorry I call you a bitch."

"Probably you were right. I was acting so hard-headed, like Cera."

"So, I'm not the only one who think Cera is a bitch."

Ali giggled.

"Ali, why were you upset with me?"

She looked up at him. They stopped.

"Because I saw you with Crystal last night. I saw you two nuzzle. Then you stood in front of me, wanting to tell me something. You didn't and slept away from me."

"So, you saw that."

He sounded disappointed. Ali looked down.

"I understand if you like Crystal."

He looked at her with a stunned expression. She was angry because she was jealous.

"Ali, are you mad because you're jealous?"

"Don't push it."

"But, you don't understand. Here's the story. I woke up to a bad dream and decided to take a walk. I stopped to admired the stars, because I felt that everyone was looking down at us. Then, Crystal walked up to me. We talked about the events that happened in the cave. That brought memories to her. We talked some more, and I noticed that there was a spec of hope in her eye. I smiled. She leaned forward and nuzzle me. She thanked me for saving her life. After that, she looked at my eyes and kissed me."

Ali tensed up when she heard the last sentence.

"I told her why she did, and she said that she thought now that I put my life in danger for her, we were in love. I told her why she would consider that love, and she said it was a custom in her herd. The males would show their love to the females by protecting her. I explained that I only protected her because she was a friend. It was too early to call anything love. She looked down and apologized. It had been about a Cold Time, and she still haven't forgotten the customs of her herd. She then asked about you. She said if you and me were mates. I blushed, and she dropped the topic. She then said goodnight and left. I stood there for a few moments and thought about what she said. I walked back and saw you. I stood in front of you, thinking if I should wake you up. You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you up. Still feeling bad, I slept away from you. I had to think what Crystal said about you was true in my heart. I felt like I cheated you."

Ali smiled. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"I understand now."

"No, you don't."

Ali was appalled by what he said.

"Why?"

"Because you missed."

"What do you-"

Littlefoot shut her up by pressing his lips with her lips. She closed her eyes and savored the moment. Littlefoot let go of the kiss and blushed. He felt more nervous as every silent second passed. Ali got closer to him so that their bodies were a foot apart. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I'm so happy."

Littlefoot smiled. They continued walking, feeling content with each other. They cleared the wetlands and found the others not too far away. They were resting near a pond that had some plants surrounding it. Littlefoot and Ali slept a few yards away from the others and kissed each other goodnight. They huddled next to each other. For the first time in a while both felt happiness and love.


	8. Fire Valley

Littlefoot yawned as he awoke. He lifted his head and looked around. The herd was still resting. He looked to his right and saw Ali sleeping contently. She seemed bliss, and he was the one that provided the feeling. He smiled. He nudged her. She lazily opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Is it time already?" she asked, disappointed.

"Yes. We need to move again."

She looked around and saw everyone sleeping.

"Why don't you just give them some time? We'll have more time to ourselves."

Littlefoot almost agreed to that, but his subconscious told him that they needed to move.

"I'd love that, but we need to go. There are too many dangers out here."

"Alright."

They got to their feet and woke the others. Everyone lazily woke up and grouped together with their leader.

"We move now?" asked Petrie.

"The sun is climbing high into the sky," said Littlefoot. "It's time to go."

They agreed and continued their quest.

"What's next?" asked Dante.

"The fire water valley," replied Littlefoot.

"It doesn't sound that bad compared to the forest of sharpteeth," commented Cera.

They walked under the cloudy skies. There was no smell of rain in the atmosphere. It provided shade for the dinosaurs as they walked across the hard ground.

"I wonder if Haven Valley is really a haven?" wondered Cera.

"Of course it is," said Petrie. "That's why the word haven is in it."

"But the Great Valley had the word great in it, and now it's..."

"I know," said Petrie, "but things always change."

"Very smart of you, Petrie. You sound like another Littlefoot."

"Don't know about that."

"Just imagine if there were two Littlefoots," said Ducky.

"Oh, god. I don't want to think of that. Just imagine hearing Littlefoot's smartness twice a day."

Ducky and Petrie laughed at what Cera said.

"I know you'll go crazy," said Petrie, "but I think I can handle it."

"Me too."

Cera shook her head.

Crystal looked down at Dante. He had overheard what Cera said and began to think. Littlefoot mentioned that the path was dangerous. He was risking his life following a longneck. There had to be another way to reach Haven Valley. Littlefoot was probably taking the dangerous path because that was the only path he heard of.

"Dante, what are you thinking? It seems something bothering you."

"Why are we following this longneck?"

"Don't you want to reach Haven Valley?"

"I do, but there has to be another way. Littlefoot is taking the dangerous route. I think there is a safer way."

"But we don't know."

"That's because we haven't looked."

"But Dante-"

"No. You saw what happened in the cave. That could have been us dead."

Crystal saw that he was just scared.

"It'll be alright. Littlefoot and his friends will protect us. I wouldn't be here if he hadn't stopped those raptors. You have Cera to thank when you two were fighting together. I know we lost two dinosaurs in the cave, but it's impossible to save everyone in a dangerous trip like this."

"I believe you're right, but I still question Liittlefoot's leadership. He left us alone to go back for a girl."

"Try to understand their relationship. They are friends. He lost two of them, and he wasn't going to lose a third one."

"True. I'll give him a chance, but if he messes up, we're leaving."

"Be rational."

"He's a stranger to us, kind of. Why are you so humble to him like if you know him?"

"Because we talked."

"So you two are like that, huh?"

Crystal faintly blushed.

"It's not like that. We're just friends."

"I believe what I want to believe."

Crystal sighed and looked at Littlefoot. She remembered what happened before the wetlands. She also remembered that he had the crush on Ali. She sighed.

Littlefoot looked up ahead and smelled something. The land was slowly changing. It became hotter and hotter. Littlefoot realized that they were near the valley. He stopped and faced his herd.

"We're here. Now, if only we saw the sun, I would know if we should go or not."

"Well, it's still bright," said Kevin. "I suggest we go and get it over with."

"Same here," said Ducky.

"Likewise," said Petrie.

"I agree to," said Ali.

"Alright then," said Littlefoot. "Let's go."

They marched onward. The ground would have baked them if they weren't cold-blooded. Steam would escape occasionally from different spots of the ground. Lava flowed as water did in a river. The volcanoes exhaled the black smoke that made the air difficult to breathe. Littlefoot was the first one to take the first steps. The rest followed. They closely stuck together. Memories jogged into Littlefoot's head when they were babies. He had to save his new friends, because Cera went the wrong way. She chose the easy path, which was the more difficult one. Because of her actions, they would have had an early death. Luckily, he saved them all. He laughed in his mind at Cera's leadership skills for the hundred twenty-third time.

"How much further?" asked Ali.

"Don't know," answered Littlefoot.

Littlefoot soon stopped at a river of lava. The gap was impassable in its current state. If he had a long rock, then he would form a bridge. He looked around and found some breakable rocks. He walked to it and got on his hind legs and smashed it with his front legs. A large, solid rock broke from the rock wall. He then tried to push it towards the river. Mutt and Dante helped. It slid in the meter deep river.

"There," said Littlefoot. "We can cross now."

Everyone except Dante and Mutt looked like he was crazy. He probably was, but he was the smartest out of the whole herd. He looked at them and announced his strategy.

"I don't know how it will hold, so I'll go first."

He walked across it. The lava seemed calm. Littlefoot made it safely through the other side. He smiled and looked back.

"Who's next?"

"I'll do it," said Crystal.

She walked across the rock bridge. It was then something went wrong. Littlefoot didn't notice as he walked over, but the lava had cracked the rock in the bottom. When Crystal was about to make it through, it shattered in the middle. Crystal quickly made it to Littlefoot.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," breathed Crystal.

The rock was destroyed. Littlefoot began to think.

"Petrie, lead the others down the river. We will meet you over there."

Littlefoot noticed that his path was destroyed by the mountains and boulders, so he and Crystal had to go around them. He would've told Petrie to come with them and then his siblings would lead the others, but Petrie's siblings were unreliable due to their inexperience in the Mysterious Beyond. The group followed Petrie as Littlefoot and Crystal disappeared behind mountains. Ali looked back and sighed. Littlefoot lead Crystal around the mountains.

"We have to be careful," said Littlefoot.

"I know that. What you did was risky."

"I didn't know it would break. Sorry."

"Okay."

Littlefoot didn't know why he apologized. It wasn't his fault that the bridge destroyed under Crystal. It was just an accident.

"How will we group with the others if we don't know anything about the river?"

"Rivers always have a passable path at some point, and this one is no different. The river is next to us, so if we keep on going along its path, we'll regroup with the others."

"I hope so."

They continued walking in silence until Crystal broke it.

"Littlefoot, did you tell Ali what we did?"

"Yeah. She didn't take it quite well."

"Oh."

She looked down.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but I never asked you how you felt about it?"

"I thought I did."

"You just say it was too early. You never told me how it felt towards you."

"Well, I felt guilty towards Ali. For the kiss, I..I... It felt kind of good. I mean, it was a kiss. All kisses feel good. At least the ones I get."

"Then are you suggesting I'm a good kisser?"

Littlefoot blushed and slapped his head mentally.

"Well...um...I guess...but I'm with Ali."

"I knew you guys were together."

She sounded disappointed.

"Then I guess it's never meant to be."

Littlefoot stopped.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you have a crush on me?"

Crystal nodded.

"I don't know why. You're right: we just met. However, I can't escape the fact that it seems like I've known you for a long time. It's like when we first met. When we met, I thought you were the most handsome longneck I saw."

"I remember, but you were with that red longneck."

"Thud? He had a crush on me, but I never had one for him. Our parents put us together since we were the same age. Thud and the others were all killed. He didn't even try to protect me like you did."

"I guess he should have fucked off."

Crystal giggled.

"Wait," realized Littlefoot. "You said that I was handsome back then."

"Well, right now too."

She got closer to him.

"But Crystal-"

"I know you're with Ali, but I just need to know if that kiss felt good."

"It did, but-"

Before he finished, Crystal placed her lips on Littlefoot. His heart reminded him of Ali as his body told him to deepen the kiss. He was so confused on what to do. He just stood there, accepting it. Crystal finally let go. It was then that Littlefoot understood she did it. All her life was forced by her parents. With them dead, she now had freedom. She was able to pick anyone now, but she leapt at the first male longneck she saw. He understood that lust had taken over her body when she separated from her herd. That would explain why she was mad when the accident happened.

"I'm sorry," she replied as she looked at him.

"Crystal, I think I understand now, but keep on moving forward. Forget about the forced engagement. It'll be okay."

For the first time in a very long time, Crystal cried. Littlefoot nudged her for support. She rested her head against his neck. She knew that Littlefoot was probably never going to get with her, but she finally understood he was her good friend.

* * *

><p>"Hey," said Cera. "A path made of rock."<p>

"It's look sturdy," said Dante. "Let's cross it."

The gang crossed the earthly bridge over the lava river. They made it to the other side with no trouble. The bridge had also led them to a path that exited the valley. Ali looked around and noticed Littlefoot and Crystal were nowhere to be found. She feared the worst.

"Finally," said Petrie. "Here they come."

Ali lifted her head and saw them. Both looked content. It was like nothing happened between them. Ali sighed in relief.

"Littlefoot," said Ducky.

"About time," said Dante. "What took you so long?"

"We had some detours," said Littlefoot.

They remembered that giant boulders and slippery slopes made walking next to the river dangerous. Littlefoot smiled and led the herd out of the valley. He looked back and faced Ali and Crystal. He looked forward and sighed.


	9. Littlefoot's Mind

The sun had set once again. Littlefoot told the others he was keeping guard since they were close to the forest probably. That was the last obstacle they needed to pass before they reached the outskirts of Haven Valley. He was so relieved that they were almost there, but death would be most probable in the forest. His mind focused on the journey for a little bit until it switched over to the two girls.

I'm so confused. I was certain I was in love with Ali. I was going to tell her too, but this complicates things. What happened today changes everything. I think I developed feelings for Crystal as well. It was only a short time, but when she kissed me, it felt like I've know her forever. I didn't want to tell her, because I'm afraid she would tell Ali. I know I will crush one's heart, but I need to tell that person, not both. I guess I don't have to worry about being the last of my herd. Wait. If all three of us are the last of our herds, why can't I have both? Would they agree? Let's see... No. They would bite my head off. I bet they would still bite my head off if it was only us three longnecks in the entire world. Why am I thinking about this? I'm dating Ali for heaven's sake! Well, am I? I don't know if I'll actual call it dating. It's more like comforting to me. Both of us, well, all of us have suffered. We're just trying to find comfort in each other. That's why Ali got mad when she saw me comforting Crystal, and that's why Crystal kissed me without my consent.

Littlefoot looked at the starry sky. It looked so beautiful as the stars brightened the sky. The moon helped to see in the dark. In his heart, Littlefoot was still in the dark. The path before him forked into two. Both paths lead to happiness and the safety of his future, but he didn't know which to pick. In the end, it just dwindled down into two choices: Ali or Crystal.

I've known Ali for many years. She helped me cure my grandfather, and I'm indebted to her for that. The last time she visited me, she and I got separated from the others. That was the second time she kissed me cheek. I was falling for her before then and when we went into the Valley of Mists, but now, I stopped falling. It looks like I'm being raised up by Crystal.

The first time I saw Crystal, she seemed nice. She was when I talked to her. The day before she left, she found a way to separate with Thud and found me. She asked me if I could show here around before she left. I don't know exactly why, but I think she just wanted to spend time with me. I showed her every spot that was amazing. We went back to the pond she found me at. She thanked me and rubbed my cheek. I was kind of shock, but I accepted this. Unfortunately, Thud saw us and rammed me into the pond. He then gave me a black eye with his tail. I returned the black eye. Ha. Now that was funny when he got those two black eyes.

_"Thanks for the tour," said Crystal._

_Littlefoot and her had returned to the pond where they met for the second time. The pond was fed by a small creek. It was surrounded by trees, and it was deep inside the Great Valley. Littlefoot found it and dubbed it his thinking spot. He was shocked that Crystal found it in one day, but he didn't seem to mind she was there._

_"No problem. So you're leaving today."_

_"Well, tomorrow morning. The leader said we would leave tomorrow, so I thought I should tour the valley. I've been with my herd the whole time. I finally sneaked out."_

_"Oh, so you're an adventurer."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Well, every time that my friends and I go out of the Great Valley, we're adventuring."_

_"So you're an explorer?"_

_"Pretty much."_

_"I'm sorry, but I just hate what you call adventuring. My herd just walks and walks and walks. Adventuring is so boring as a herd."_

_"That's because you've haven't been adventuring with me."_

_She chuckled._

_"I guess I'll keep that in mind. I had fun today, Littlefoot. Thank you."_

_She unexpectedly rubbed his cheek. Littlefoot was surprised at this, but he returned the affection._

_"Hey, Longneck!"_

_Crystal pulled back and gasped when she saw Thud._

_"Hi, Thud."_

_"What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_"Getting some air."_

_"I don't mind that, but what are you doing with him?"_

_"He was just showing me around."_

_"Then what's with all the nuzzling?"_

_Littlefoot approached him._

_"I know it looks sketchy, but there is a misunderstanding."_

_"Just shut up. I'm talking with Crystal."_

_"But if you just let me explain-"_

_"No. Now go away."_

_"But-"_

_Thud spun around and whipped Littlefoot's right eye. Littlefoot stepped back a few feet and looked at Thud. He charged at Thud and whipped his tail at him. Thud dodged the whip, but he failed to see the recoil. Littlefoot got his left eye. Thud lowered his neck and rammed Littlefoot down. As Littlefoot was on the ground, he managed to whip Thud's other eye. Thud toughened up and kicked Littlefoot's stomach. Littlefoot bellowed in pain, but he managed to stand up and pounced on Thud. Thud was now on the floor. Littlefoot was about to kick him when he heard Crystal's voice._

_"Littlefoot, stop."_

_Littlefoot obeyed and backed away from Thud. Thud got up and rammed Littlefoot down into the pond. Crystal bashed her head against Thud's head._

_"I said stop. That meant both of you."_

_"Fine. He's done anyways."_

_Littlefoot got out of the pond and shook the water off._

_"At least I don't have two black eyes."_

_Thud stopped. Before he charged at Littlefoot, Crystal stopped him. She faced Littlefoot._

_"Don't push it."_

_Littlefoot was mad at Thud's actions, but he obeyed Crystal. He confronted Thud._

_"Listen, I apologize for this."_

_Before Thud said anything, Littlefoot began to walk away. The two longnecks watched as he disappeared behind the bushes._

Then I had to explain to my grandparents about the black eye, thought Littlefoot. That was the first time I got into a physical fight over a girl. Just imagine if we were grown-ups. I would've wiped his ass across the floor.

Littlefoot chuckled. He then sighed. He looked behind him. Crystal was sleeping next to Dante. Ali was sleeping next to Mutt. What was funny was that there was enough space in-between them to allow a longneck to fit between them. He smiled.

Wow. Now if only I could be with both. Wait. That ain't right. I have to choose one. Well, I guess for now, I can be with both. No, I can't. Ali and I are dating. Stop being such a pervert and pick one! I can't fuck both, so just pick the one you love the most. But I'm not totally in love with either one. Ali and I are still exploring, and Crystal is lusting for me. They are not toys that I can play with and then throw away. They are dinosaurs, living creatures. I choose one and hurt the other's feelings. Well, let's just see who I have deeper feelings for by being with them. I'll just get off course for awhile and see which one I have deeper feelings for.

Littlefoot devised a plan and replayed it in his mind before he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"Littlefoot!" shouted Cera in his ear.<p>

Littlefoot woke up in shock.

"Damn it, Cera."

"Get your lazy ass up. Everyone is waiting for you. The sun is high up."

"But why couldn't you just wake me up nicely?"

"I just wanted you to feel how I felt when you wake me up from my peaceful nap."

Littlefoot grunted as he got up. He walked over to the herd, thinking about the plan.


	10. Ali or Crystal?

Littlefoot kept on looking back. Ali had noticed this. It seemed his mind was on something else other than the forest of sharpteeth. It was like if he was planning something.

"Littlefoot, is something wrong?"

He faced her.

"Oh, no."

"Are you thinking of the forest?"

That hadn't cross his mind.

"Um..."

"It's okay if you don't have a plan yet."

"Well, I kind of do, but it's too risky. Before we go as a group, I want to check it out."

"All by yourself?"

"Well, I am the leader."

"But you're the only that can provide the future. I mean, you are the only male longneck here."

She blushed. Littlefoot smiled, but he quickly frown.

"I know, but I care about your safety, like I always have."

Ali rested her head on his neck.

"Just be safe."

They walked and walked. The clouds finally clashed together and darkened the sky. Rain fell on the dinosaurs, making the soft ground soggy. Cera looked up.

"Damn. It's raining."

"Thanks for stating the obvious," said Petrie. "Hopefully, I don't get sick."

"Hey, Littlefoot," said Nod. "We should find shelter."

Littlefoot looked around and spotted a cave in a mountain. He nodded towards it, and everyone followed. They raced inside the cave and got inside the dry spots of the cave.

"Finally," said Crystal and shook the water off her head.

"I like it when it's dry," commented Kevin.

"But you're a swimmer," pointed out Ducky. "It is just water."

"Sky water and ground water are two different waters for me, babe."

Dante brushed against a rock to dry himself faster. Cera joined him. Petrie and his siblings grabbed their wings and squeezed the water out. Littlefoot looked towards the deeper end of the cave and sighed. He began to walk towards it. Crystal followed him.

"What's wrong?"

He stopped.

"I'm going to scout for any possible dangers."

"But you need a partner. I'll go, but I promise to not act like yesterday."

Littlefoot nodded, and the pair left. Ali saw them leave, and instead of feeling heartbroken, she followed them.

The others finally noticed that three longnecks were gone. How could those big flatheads disappear from under their noses? They were screwed if a sharptooth came, because they might not see it.

Littlefoot and Crystal kept quiet. Crystal was replying the times she was with Littlefoot, and he did the same thing. They were unaware of the figure following them.

"So, there seems to be no sharpteeth," Crystal reported, breaking the silence.

"But we need to check deeper," said Littlefoot. "These paths are easy for sharpteeth to walk in."

"Okay, so we need to look for sharpteeth footprints."

"Not a bad idea."

Crystal smiled, and they both looked at the ground. Not looking where he was turning, Littlefoot bonked his head in Crystal's head. Both lifted their heads and faced each other.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

They continued to walk.

"Crystal, I know it may be hard, but tell me how your parents were."

"My parents? Well, my father was the leader of the herd. He was tall and blue. He was very smart and saved the herd from danger many times. Even though we were in the same herd, we hardly spent time with each other. I spent more time with my mother until an earthshake made a rock fall on her. My father and I grieved and spent more time together. Then the sharpteeth attack happened. My father was killed by what was their leader."

"Who was their leader?"

"A big, dark green sharptooth with yellow eyes. He has a scar on his back."

Littlefoot gasped. That was the same sharptooth who killed his grandfather. In fact, Crystal's family life was related to his family life in many ways.

"Don't take it as an offensive but your family reminds of mine a lot. After my mother died, I thought I was the last of my herd aside from my grandparents. My father came into my life. We don't spend that much time since he's busy taking care of the herd. My grandparents took care of me until the attack."

The two remained silent until Crystal suggested something.

"Why don't we think of something happy? Too many bad thoughts are bad."

Littlefoot nodded. The two talked about the adventures they had and the things they saw. Both would comment on the other's story. They laughed at the funny parts and felt worried at the dangerous parts. Littlefoot smiled at Crystal, and she smiled back.

"Well, it seems that it's safe," he said.

A roar was heard from the depths of the cave. It was getting closer to them. The figure appeared to be a dark purple Spinosaurus. Littlefoot gulped as he and Crystal slowly backed away. The sharptooth quickly spotted them and ran towards them.

"Crystal, go!"

"But-"

"Alert the others."

She looked at him one more time before she followed the order. She ran back, missing Ali. The Spinosaurus looked at Littlefoot and roared. The longneck was big, but he wasn't that big. The Spinosaurus approached the feeble-looking longneck. It roared before lunging at the longneck. Littlefoot looked from left to right to use his surroundings as an advantage. He noticed sharp crystals were present, but he would take time breaking them. He used his tails to distract the sharptooth. His whip-like tail kept the roaring Spinosaurus away for some time. Unfortunately, the sharptooth managed to claw his tail badly. Littlefoot retreated his tail because of the pain. The sharptooth took the opportunity to advance. Littlefoot knew this was the end of him.

"Littlefoot, here."

A sword-like crystal was tossed at him. He grabbed it in the air with his tail and stabbed the heart of the sharptooth. It roared it pain and fell dead. Before it had died, it managed to bite into Littlefoot's back not too deeply. Bite marks were deep enough to allow some blood to escape. It wasn't enough to make him faint. He looked back to see who helped him.

"Ali, what are you doing here?"

"Are you okay? You're bleeding."

Littlefoot looked at his back and tail.

"I'll live, thanks to you, but why are you here?"

"Um...I...I followed you."

She might as well tell him the truth since he would find out eventually.

"I'm glad you did."

She smiled.

"But you shouldn't have. You were spying on me."

She frowned and got closer to him.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't leave you alone with Crystal. It's not that I don't trust her. It's because I know you like her."

Littlefoot was so stunned that he didn't respond quickly. Ali grew more and more depressed as the silence took longer and longer.

"I do like her," he admitted.

She looked away, rejected. Littlefoot approached her and rubbed her head. She pulled away.

"But you can't love both of us."

"I can."

"But not be in love."

"I never said I was in love with her."

"But you never told me too, and we're dating, or so I think. I feel that you tossed me aside."

"Ali, I would never do that. I'm just confused. I'll be honest with you. Ever since that kiss from her, I've been confused. One part loves you, but another part loves her. I've been confused by who I'm in love with."

"Then I can help."

Ali lowered her neck and walked pass him. As she passed, he felt cold. He quickly lowered his neck and picked up her tail with his mouth. She turned around, irritated.

"Littlefoot, let go please."

He shook his head.

"Let go. I don't want to play."

He still held onto her tail.

"Littlefoot!" she snapped. "You better let go, asshole!"

Though that word stung him, he failed to comply. Ali walked up to him and pushed him. He didn't let go as he was being pushed. She accidentally tripped on a rock and fell on top of him. Both fell to the floor. Littlefoot spat out the tail as he noticed the position they were in. Ali was underneath him. Her head was where his tail was, and the same was true for him. Littlefoot quickly got up with a blush. Ali faced him with her own blush. She remembered she was mad at him, and the blush disappeared. The pain had returned, so Littlefoot's blush faded.

"Ow."

He looked back and noticed that a little blood was coming out. He faced Ali. She was gone. He looked around and saw she was going deeper in the cave. He walked towards her.

"Ali, come back."

"Stay away."

He was stunned by those words.

"But Ali, you're going deeper in the cave."

"I don't care. The further I'm away from you, the better. Hopefully I'll find a man who can decide."

"You still don't understand."

She stopped and faced him.

"Yes, I do. All you men are mostly the same. You say you're in love with a woman, but then you fall for another one. I'm not going to be just a fuck buddy for you. I want someone who is there for me."

"But I have."

"That's not what I mean. I want someone in love with me."

"Ali, I...I need you."

"Yeah, until you don't."

"I always do."

"Bull-"

"You know that I risk my life to save you! I know I do that for everyone, but if I lost you, I don't know how much longer I could live."

She softened her expression.

"Are you saying you're in love with me?"

"I can't say that. I mean I really, really like you, but I can't say I'm in love with you. The same goes with Crystal. I was going to see if I could say that, but it didn't work the way I wanted it to. I'm sorry."

Tears began to form. Ali walked away from him, back to the herd. Littlefoot formed tears in his eyes. He blinked to wipe them away and walked deeper in the cave to spend the night alone to understand these confused feelings. So far, he had picked no girl to fully love.


	11. Herd Expansion

Ducky was the first to wake up. She stretched and got to her feet. She smiled and looked at Kevin. It seemed she found her partner. During the time that the longnecks disappeared, they talked. She knew more of him, and he knew more about her. Their connection felt right. She looked around and walked over to Ali.

Ali was very sad yesterday. She said she got into an argument with Littlefoot. Maybe they made up.

She tapped Ali's nose. She lazily opened her eyes and smiled.

"Good morning, Ducky."

"Good morning."

Then Ali's voice became serious.

"Did Littlefoot made you wake me up?"

"No. I was going to ask if you two made up. It seems you didn't."

"I'm not going to apologize to that indecisive two-timer."

Ducky sighed.

"You should though."

"Ha! Why should I apologize?"

"His heart is torn between you two. If he chooses one of you, then the other one will feel sad. He's not two-timing you, Ali. He's just confused."

"I guess."

She sighed.

"I don't know what to do. What if he doesn't...choose me?"

"I don't know what to do, but time heals everything."

Ali nodded.

"Well, better get moving."

She stood on her feet and looked around. She looked down at Ducky.

"Um, Ducky. Where is he?"

"I thought you knew."

"Oh, I just hope he's not doing anything rash."

* * *

><p>Littlefoot had made it across the cave. At first, he was walking in the cave to get away from everyone. After two hours of walking, he found an exit. He decided to investigate the area. He wanted to do anything that would get his mind off of Crystal and Ali. He walked out of the cave and saw that it directly led into a forest. The trees were so tall that he doubted that his father could reach them. The ground was mostly made of soft soil, but it was decorated with bushes and other small plants. There was some grassy spots. He decided to explore. Hopefully, he would find a river he could drink out of. He marched onward until he saw something. Footprints were formed from harden mud. He examined them. Some of them were four-footer footprints, and others were two-footer footprints. It looked like someone was being chased. He grew worried and followed the footprints. He followed them for several yards until he stopped in disgust. Two eaten bodies of plant eaters laid muscle-less. They belonged to an adult Stegosaurus and an adult Iguanodon. The footprints continued pass them, but their attacks stopped to devour their fallen friends. Littlefoot continued and heard a roar. He quickened the pace. He finally made it into a small cave that big sharpteeth couldn't get into. Littlefoot got in and caught his breath.<p>

"Who are you?"

The voice made him jump that he accidentally hit his head with a rock wall and knocked him out.

* * *

><p>"How could we loss his fat ass," commented Cera.<p>

"He's not fat," said Ducky.

"But he has the biggest ass here."

"I don't know about that," said Petrie.

Ali didn't hear him, but Crystal heard him. She wrapped him around her tail and brought him to her eye level.

"What did you say, flyer?"

"Nothing."

"I thought so."

Crystal released him. Forgetting he could fly, Petrie hit the ground. He got up and decided to ride on Cera. He remained silent.

"Ali," said Nod. "Are you sure he went through it?"

"I'm not sure, but it's the last place I saw him go into, The cave doesn't split into paths, so we're going the right way."

"Okay."

Ali bit her underlip. Littlefoot had gone further than she expected. She just hoped he was safe.

* * *

><p>"What should we do?"<p>

"Give him some time to wake up."

"But we need to move on. Haven Valley should be close by."

"We just can't abandon him."

"Well, he's in the safe place. The sharpteeth couldn't get us."

Cryings were heard.

"Do you need to bring that up? You're making Yeta cry."

"I'm sorry Yeta," replied the voice in a soft tone.

"But now all the adults are dead."

A male sighed.

"If only we could have all made it to Haven Valley."

Littlefoot groaned and opened his eyes.

"You're awake."

Littlefoot got to his feet.

"What happened?"

"It looks like I accidentally scared you," giggled a female.

He looked a saw a herd of nine dinosaurs. He saw a amber-colored male longneck with chocolate-colored eyes. Two more longnecks were behind him. One was a light gray female with blue eyes. The other was a greenish male with hazel eyes. The other dinosaurs included a orange-yellow female Stegosaurus, a pinkish female flyer, two coupled Galliminuses, an tan brown Iguanodon, and a sky blue Nodosaurus.

"Huh. Oh yeah. Now I remember. I must have jumped and hit my head."

"Where do you come from?" asked the amber-colored longneck.

"From the Great Valley. Our home was attacked by sharpteeth. I was here with the survivors of my home, but I separated from them to do some exploring. My name is Littlefoot."

"Oh. Well, the name's Ricky. I'm the leader of my herd. We are also all that is left. Some adults escaped with us, but sadly, we lost them."

Littlefoot remembered the two skeletons. He saw a young Iguanodon that was probably the offspring of the adult-size one. He looked back at Rick.

"So, how long have you've been here?"

"For two days. We're on our way to Haven Valley. We were attacked by sharpteeth as soon as we entered this forest. I learned that this must be the sharpteeth forest I heard about. Some say that this is the home of the sharpteeth attacking many homes. The survivors come here for hope, only to get eaten alive."

"Kind of dark."

"Whatever, Luke," Ricky told the other male longneck.

Littlefoot walked to the entrance of the cave and poked a head out. He looked from side to side and noticed a pair of yellow eyes, Frightened, he backed into the cave.

"They're watching us."

"No shit," said Ricky. "They've been watching us. Ever since you came here, they've been here. You must have a strong odor to make them stalk us."

"Well, I haven't had a bath yet," Littlefoot answered sarcastically.

He looked around and saw that the cave was very compact. He saw that sharp rocks were scattered across the ground. He had used one similar to kill the sharptooth that attacked him when Crystal and him were exploring. He also noticed two rocks parallel with each other and some loose vines on the cave walls.

"How convenient," he smiled.

He grabbed the long rope of vine and wrapped it around the two rocks. He pulled it to check if it was flexible. It was. He placed a slanted rock on the spot where the vine received the most tension. With his tail, he grabbed a pointed rock and laid it on the slanted rock as he pulled back the vine. He aimed for the sharptooth and fired. The rock pierced through the heart of the sharptooth. It fell dead. The others looked back at Littlefoot.

"What the fuck?" said Luke.

"Well, thank you."

As Littlefoot ran, he felt the others follow him. He stopped and faced them.

"Aren't you guys going to Haven Valley?"

"We are, but I presume you're going," said Ricky.

"We need to stick together," said the female longneck.

Littlefoot nodded, and they followed him.

* * *

><p>Ali and the others had made it through the cave. They now near the exit. Ali smiled and walked towards the exit. She looked back.<p>

"I think he went this way."

As she turned around, a longneck, who was looking back, crashed into her. Both fell down. Ali looked over to see who it was. Littlefoot nervously smiled. She smiled back.

"Littlefoot, you're safe. I was worried."

"I'm sorry, but I went to check things up ahead. It was then I met Ricky and his herd."

Ali was the last one to notice the herd. She looked back at Littlefoot and got up. Littlefoot got up too.

"They were stuck in the forest of sharpteeth," Littlefoot commented.

"We're near the forest?" wondered Petrie. "Oh, boy. We're almost to our new home."

"Not quite. We need to think of a plan. Sharpteeth roam the area, and the entrance will take a while to find. We rest here for the night and continue tomorrow."

"But how did you meet them?" asked Crystal.

"He saved us," said the female longneck. "He made this weird thing that killed the sharptooth stalking us."

Littlefoot faintly blushed. Ali smiled at him.

"We head out tomorrow then," said Ricky. "It is rumored that the entrance is on the north side of the valley. The forest surrounds the whole thing, so sharpteeth are everywhere. We need to know where we are."

Littlefoot looked around and saw a puddle of water from the rain a day ago. He walked to it and looked around it. He saw some magnesium of the floor. One was sharpened at one end. He walked outside of the cave and quickly got back with a piece of thin bark. He placed it on the water and put the magnesium on the bark and waited. The magnesium spun around and stopped. The sharpened tip pointed north.

"We're south. We need to walk around most of it to reach the entrance."

The dinosaurs looked at the bizarre device that supposedly told the directions.

"And you determined just by that?" questioned Luke.

"Trust me. You're talking to the guy who just killed a sharptooth with a weird device."

The female nodded.

"He's right."

"But Grace," started the flyer.

"She's also right, Cassie," said Ricky. "Besides, Littlefoot did save our lives."

"When did you become so smart," toyed Ali.

Littlefoot smiled. He remembered when he first discovered this phenomenon.

_Littlefoot was looking down at his reflection in the water. He was bored. Pallid Petrie was sick again. Criminal Cera was grounded again. Dimwitted Ducky had sprang her ankle. Simpleton Spike was following the orders of Ducky. He sighed._

_"I'm so bored. If I had a brother or sister, we could play a game or something."_

_He noticed a piece of bark floating in the shallow water. He decided to see if how much he could put on it to make it sink to pass the time. He looked around and noticed something shiny. It wasn't pretty, but it reflected the rays of the sun off of it. He picked it up and decided to put it on the bark. When he dropped it, he noticed it to tremble. Suddenly, it spun around where the sharp part pointed towards the gentle waterfall. He thought it was the wind, but the leaves weren't moving. He picked up the metal and set it back on the bark, facing the other way. After a couple of seconds, it spun around and stopped in the same position it spun to previously. Littlefoot was so confused at what he saw. He walked over to were he got the metal. He placed another needle-looking one on the bark. It spun around into the position the other had spun to. Littlefoot began to think._

_Let's see. They don't do it in the ground, because I have seen nothing move like this in the ground. It's only in water. I know if I put just this shiny stone, it will sink, so I need a part of a log to keep it up. As for where it points, it looks like it always points at one direction. The sun sets in the west, so the shiny stone points north._

_Littlefoot was baffled at what he discovered. He went to tell his grandparents and showed them. They were also shocked. They decided that it was best if Littlefoot kept this a secret. He asked why. Grandpa Longneck told him that this was the kind of stuff dinosaurs would get mad at. They weren't ready. Littlefoot agreed, because even he did not understand it._

"Where did you learn that?" asked Cera. "What kind of crazy thing are you doing?"

"I'm not sure how it's done. All it tells you is the direction. Just trust me, and you'll see I'm right. Now, it's getting dark soon, so I suggest we rest here for the night."

"Does that thing also tell you when the day ends?" questioned Dante.

"No. I just looked outside."

The dinosaurs found places to sleep. They kept together, except for Littlefoot. He decided to sleep away from them. He felt it was okay. He rested his head down and closed his eyes to sleep. It wasn't long before he felt someone brush against him. He looked over and saw Ali's face. She was sleeping soundly. Littlefoot smiled and brought his face closer to her face. He gently nudged her and finally went to sleep. Ali formed a smile in her dreams.


	12. Forest of Sharpteeth

Ali woke up from a terrible nightmare. She gasped and looked to her side. Littlefoot was still there. She relaxed and recalled what happened in the dream. Littlefoot began to stir on his own. He lazily opened his eyes and lifted his head. He saw Ali looking at him.

"Are you stalking me again?" he joked.

Ali wordlessly pressed her lips against his lips. After three seconds, she rested her head against his cheek. Littlefoot looked down and saw tears coming down her eyes. He closed his eyes and rubbed his chin gently on top of her head.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. The dream I had... It was..."

"Shhh. I'm here."

"But Littlefoot, I saw you being eaten alive. We were in the forest. A sharptooth appeared. Only you and me couldn't move. I was invisible to the sharptooth, but you weren't. The giant sharptooth took one bite and ate you whole."

"At least he didn't eat me in pieces," he commented.

Ali rubbed her head against his neck and cried.

"You idiot," she said in-between tears.

He sighed.

"It was just a dream. I'm still here, and I will always be."

Littlefoot comforted Ali for about five minutes until he realized something.

"You kissed me."

Ali sniffled.

"I did? I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? Ali, I was confused, but I'm not anymore. Ali, during the time I was mad at you, it gave me some time to think. As I walked through the cave, I was so mad at you that I thought I couldn't ever forgive you. I realized that you only stalked Crystal and me, because you were afraid of losing me. It was like when you were surrounded by those belly draggers. I was so scared of losing you. You're the only one I know that has cared for me deeply during this quest. Though we fight, it makes our bond stronger. It was then I realized that I'm not confused anymore. The only reason I was confused was because Crystal's kiss reminded me of my mother's kiss. That feeling of wanting my mother came back. I don't want to mate my mother's incarnation; I want to mate with you, Ali. I love you."

Ali lifted her head up and kissed Littlefoot. This time, it was a passionate kiss. They eventually sucked on each other's mouths as their tongues danced with each other. Their chests soon touched each other as they deepened the kiss. They finally stopped to breathe. They smiled at each other. Ali finally kissed him under his chin. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. Littlefoot's eyes shoot up in surprise.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"But Ali-"

"Littlefoot, you said you love me. I've been waiting a long time. I feel tonight is a good time. I want your babies."

Littlefoot looked at Ali and smiled. For an answer, he kissed her neck. He got lower and lower with the kisses. Ali looked down and tapped his head. He looked up.

"I think we need some more privacy."

"Why? They have their eyes closed.'

"Just come," she snapped.

They walked to a deeper part of the cave. When Ali felt secure, she nodded. Littlefoot continued to lick her neck. He got further down and licked her chest. She smiled and lowered her neck. She began to lick the back of her neck. He finally raised his head and licked her cheeks. She laughed. He finally kissed her sexually once more before he walked around her. She bent her legs and lifted her tail. The midpoint of the middle of the tail to the end of it rested on Littlefoot's neck as he licked her hole. She lowly moaned as it got larger. She got on her hind knees as her front legs remained bent. Littlefoot hovered over her and touched Ali's hole with his hole near the belly, tail, and his other hole. When their holes connected, his male organ thrusted into her with such force that she moaned louder. He went faster and faster as her moans got louder and louder. Finally, he exploded in her. His male organ was tucked in his hole and he stood up. Ali also stood up and faced Littlefoot. She kissed him and laid down to sleep. Littlefoot joined her, and they slept soundly together.

* * *

><p>"Where is he?" asked Ricky.<p>

"And Ali's missing too," said Cera.

The dinosaurs began to panic until the found their leader coming back with Ali. Cera confronted them.

"Where were you?"

"We were taking a stroll," responded Littlefoot.

"Well, c'mon," said Petrie. "This cave is scary. I heard a monster last night."

"Me too," said Ducky. "It was moaning very loudly."

Mutt saw Ali.

"Ali, why are you red?"

"I'm sick," she quickly replied.

"Then we should stay here until you get better," said Crystal.

"No, it's fine. We need to pass the forest of sharpteeth today."

"Alright."

"So, what's the plan, Littlefoot?" asked Cassie.

"We're south, and the entrance is at the north. We need to basically sneak across the valley."

"Is that your best idea?" questioned Nod.

"It's the only one I got. My options are limited, but we at least have the sense of direction."

"True," said Ricky. "Okay, let's go."

The dinosaurs walked out of the cave. Littlefoot walked next to Ali and whispered in her ear.

"You were too loud."

"I'm sorry," she whispered back. "You were too big and rough."

"But you liked it."

She paused and said, "Oh, just shut it and focus."

Littlefoot chuckled and walked over to Ricky and Nod.

"So, Littlefoot, what happens if a sharptooth attack?" asked Nod.

Littlefoot didn't have time to respond. A faded orange sharptooth jumped out of the trees. It saw the free meals and roared. The leaf-eaters screamed and ran. The sharptooth chase them.

"Does this answer your question!" yelled Littlefoot.

He looked back and saw the sharptooth catching up. The closest target was Yeta. Littlefoot remembered seeing Yeta's mother's skeleton. He changed paths and headed towards the adult tyrannosaur. Ali saw this and followed Littlefoot. Littlefoot saw this and told her to go.

"But Littlefoot-"

"Just go! I'll be fine. Have faith."

Cera nudged her. Ali complied and ran with the others. She looked back to see Littlefoot square-off with the sharptooth. The sharptooth came down to chow down on the longneck.. Littlefoot quickly dodged and managed to wipe its right yellow eye. It lifted its head up and roared in pain. Littlefoot whipped its chest with his tail He roared in pain and spun around quickly. It hit the longneck with his tail. Littlefoot fell back. As the sharptooth closed in, a mightier tail wrapped around the sharptooth's neck. The sharptooth was lifted up and thrown against a thick tree. It fainted. Littlefoot looked up at who saved him, and he couldn't believe it. The figure smiled at him.

"My, Littlefoot. Look at how much you've grown."

"Dad! You're alive!"

Littlefoot's dad, or Bron, was a brown Apatosaurus with blue-green eyes. He was not there for Littlefoot's birth, but he had his reasons. As he searched for Littlefoot, he became a leader of a herd. He also adopted a green Brachiosaurus named Shorty. Littlefoot was hoping to see his foster brother, but he wasn't there.

"Dad, where's Shorty?"

Bron lowered his head and faced Littlefoot with sorrow eyes. He understood and looked away. He faced his dad.

"What happened?"

"My herd was attacked by an army of sharpteeth. It was out of surprise. Shorty was playing somewhere else. I tried to look for him. I finally found him, but he was being eaten by raptors. I killed the beasts, but I knew it was too late. I left the valley I called home. I found two survivors, and we walked in search for a new home. We decided to go to the Great Valley, but it seemed that the sharpteeth had already attacked. I saw the bones of Papa and Mama Longneck. I feared the worst and looked around the valley. There were no signs of your remains. We left the Great Valley and wandered not too far from it when we saw a herd of yellow bellies. They mentioned another valley untouched. They also said they saw a weird herd who asked the same question. Their leader said the longneck looked like me. That was when I knew you were alive. We left for what is called Haven Valley. Along the way, I lost my comrades. I'm glad I found you."

"I'm glad that you're safe."

Littlefoot noticed the sharptooth to stir.

"Dad, the sharptooth."

"I got it."

Bron stomped on the sharptooth, silencing it forever. Littlefoot smiled. He hoped one day he would be just as strong as his dad. Then he could protect Ali. Littlefoot gasped,

"My friends."

"Let's go."

Bron and Littlefoot ran on the path Littlefoot's herd took. They came up to them to witness a horrible site. There were two sharpteeth and three raptors. Mutt had already met a gruesome fate. As his flesh was being eaten by raptors, Nod got angry and summoned courage to not prolong the horrible sight he saw. He bashed the raptors silly until their skulls and spins broke. He looked over at Mutt's body and sighed in depression. The two sharpteeth closed in on the rest of the herd. Bron and Littlefoot quickly whipped the sharpteeth. Ricky and Luke helped Littlefoot fight a sharptooth so they didn't look like total wimps. Bron was clawed by a sharptooth. A scar appeared along his neck. He rammed the sharptooth with his head. It fell down. As it tried to get up, Bron wrapped his tail around its neck and choked it to death. Liittlefoot delivered the most blows to his opponent. Finally, the three longnecks wrapped their tails around its legs and tripped it. It fell down. Bron saw this and stomped on the sharptooth's chest, breaking through its rib cage. The bones pierced the lungs and heart of the beast. Ricky looked up at the adult longneck.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Anything to help my son's friends."

"Wait," said Luke. "You're Littlefoot's father?"

Bron nodded.

"Littlefoot," said Ali.

She walked up to him.

"I'm so happy you're alive."

"You should thank my dad. He saved my life."

Ali smiled at Littlefoot's father.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would do without him."

"Ah, it's nothing. My son's safety is important to me."

Bron smiled. It looked like his son found a mate. Liittlefoot noticed that they had circled around the enclosed valley. He looked around and saw the entrance to the valley. It was up high above a cliff. A treacherous path made it slippery for two-footers, but it was perfect for four-footers. Littlefoot and Bron lead the herd up the path. Ali, Crystal, and Nod helped the two-footers climb up it. They finally made it into the cave. It directly connected with the inside of the valley. The dinosaurs looked in awe at this large valley. Green decorated the valley. Trees to their liking was prominent in almost all areas of the valley. Some stood alone as others were largely grouped together. A river from on top of the cliffs poured into the valley. The large river separated into three and grouped together to form a huge lake in the middle of the valley. A gray flyer confronted them in astonishment.

"Four-footers? How did you survive?"

"We just did," Littlefoot simply answered. "We lost a few friends, but we mostly survived, and we will continue to survive."

The flyer smiled.

"Well, travelers. Welcome to Haven Valley."


	13. Epilogue

The flyers of the Haven Valley spread the word that land dinosaurs made it to Haven Valley. The story encouraged others to try. Though some died, the others survived. Littlefoot welcomed those who survived with open arms. They acknowledged him as the leader, since he and his herd were the first land dinosaurs to make it into Haven Valley. For those injured, Crystal and Ali made sure they were treated. Ricky and Littlefoot welcomed the newcomers by giving them a tour of Haven Valley. The age of dinosaurs was not over yet.

Littlefoot and Ali had watched their eggs hatched. They hatched in a month after they had reached Haven Valley. They had three children: two males and a female. The female reminded Littlefoot of Ali with her pinkish body, so he called her Alison. As for the males, the bluish one was named Dan. The brown one that looked at lot like Littlefoot was named Littlefoot Jr. Littlefoot had changed his name to Jake so to not get confused, but Ali was the only one who still called him by his real name. She decided to call the smaller Littlefoot Junior. Littlefoot was annoyed by it, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could never win a fight with Ali if she was determined.

Their friends also mated. Kevin and Ducky had a liter of their own. Cera and Dante finally mated and were expecting eggs. Petrie and Cassie were still in the dating phase. Crystal and Luke had two boys. Ricky and Penny had one boy and one girl.

It had been exactly one year since they made it through their perilous journey. No one thought of it special, but Littlefoot did. He reminded his family about it and decided to show his kids the dangerous route he and Ali took. He and Ali led the kids to the highest cliff of the valley.

"Dad," called Alison. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you kids what your mother and I went through to reach here."

"So, this is the day that you came here?" wondered Dan. "How do you remember?"

"When your father and I got here with the others, he noticed that the flowers were in bloom. The flowers are in bloom today, so this is the day we found our home."

"That's right. We're almost at the top now."

The longneck family made it to the top. They looked down below. The kids were amazed by the sight they saw. They had never seen anything like it.

"It looks so pretty," said Alison.

"Looks can be deceiving," said Ali. "It's actually very frightening to journey in what we call the Mysterious Beyond. I did it for some many years, and now, I'm happy that I live in one place."

"Down below are all the hardships your mother and I went through. I lost my friends, my mother, my grandparents, and the adult friends I come to love because of the Mysterious Beyond. It is a dangerous place. We are fortunate that we live in a safe place. That's why I want to always remember the struggles we went through so you kids can live worry free."

His kids looked up at him. Littlefoot Junior nodded.

"I understand Father."

"Me too," said Alison.

"Same goes for me," said Dan.

Littlefoot and Ali lowered their necks to allow the kids to hop on. Alison got on her mother while the boys got on his father. Littlefoot and Ali came together to rest cheek against cheek. They admired the sun as it set down on this day; the day that they survived.


End file.
